Neil Gaiman is already Neil Gaiman and nothing I would say in this obscure blog could change that. The book just fell short of my expectations. After reading all of The Sandman graphic novels, I was expecting the same powerful effect it had on me but it never came. The book was too long and had too many characters. The characters lack character build-up. It would have been more interesting if I got to know the characters better. People who are clueless about mythology and ancient gods would sure be lost.

The beginning was exciting enough but the book dragged on and on for hundreds of pages. A brief turn of events happened sometime in the end but how the war ended was so corny, I just couldn’t take it. The book was also filled with a lot of cliches like “…for each moment of sorrow we get when people leave the world, there is a corresponding moment of joy when a new baby comes into the world” – I mean how may times have this line already been used?! And Low-Key Lyesmith as Loki Lie-Smith?! Ugh! I was expecting more creativity from Gaiman.

I don’t want to make conclusions as of this point but maybe Neil Gaiman isn’t that much of a novelist as he is a comics author. But what does a hardware engineer know of such things other than being an avid reader? I would still give Neil Gaiman a chance. Next in line in my reading list is “Stardust”. I enjoyed the movie. Hope the book isn’t that much of a disappointment, else, I’ll just be sticking to his graphic novels.